LANGUAGE SETTING DEVICE, METHOD FOR SETTING LANGUAGE OF LANGUAGE SETTING DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING STORED THEREIN LANGUAGE SETTING PROGRAM
A language setting device 10 is configured to be able to support a large number of languages with a small storage capacity. The language setting device 10 includes: a storage section 13 for storing language data; a language code obtaining section 11 for obtaining via a network a language code indicating the language environment used in an online device 20, a language data obtaining section 12 for obtaining, from a language data storage server via the network, language data for setting the language environment of the language setting device so as to correspond to the language code, and for storing the obtained language data into the storage section 13; and a language environment setting section 14 for setting the language environment of the language setting device by using the language data stored in the storage section 13.
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The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-058720 filed on Mar. 16, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to language setting devices, which are online devices such as routers, for enabling their language environments to be set.
2. Description of the Background Art
Routers whose operation parameters can be set by computers connected to the routers are known (see, for example, the operation manual for a router sold under the trademark “TransCube” (manufactured by Toshiba Corp.) http://www3.toshiba.co.jp/pc/catalog/whms/manupdf/mp1063a3.pdf). In this case, a computer accesses the router via a network. And the router reads setting-window data described in a predetermined language, and transmits the window image data to the computer. The computer displays the setting window based on the transmitted image data. Generally, the predetermined language is the language that is used in a country where the router is sold. In situations in which router manufacturers export routers to a plurality of foreign countries, the manufacturers have manufactured multiple types of routers, with each router destined to a particular foreign country including language data corresponding to a language specification applicable to the country. Alternatively, manufacturers have manufactured routers in such a way that each router stores therein language data for several different languages, and thus language data for a given language can be selected from among the data for the several different languages upon initial start-up of the router.
In the former case, the router manufacturer needs to manufacture multiple types of routers to be adaptable for use in every export destination country, which reduces manufacturing efficiency. In the latter case, since the routers must store data for multiple languages, the router must have a large-capacity memory. These problems are not only shared by routers, but also by various electronic devices whose language environments are set by the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTherefore, objects of the present invention are to solve at least a part of the above-described problems, and to realize language setting devices that can support a large number of languages with a smaller amount of storage capacity.
In order to achieve the above-described objects, the present invention is provided with the following features. A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a language setting device connectable to a network for enabling its language environment to be set, the device comprising: a language code obtaining section configured to obtain from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses; a language data obtaining section configured to obtain, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; a storage section configured to store the language data obtained by the language data obtaining section; and a language environment setting section configured to use the language data stored in the storage section to set the language environment of the language setting device.
In a further aspect, the network includes a LAN and an internet, the language setting device is connected to both the LAN and the internet, and the language data storage server is connected to at least one of either the internet or the LAN. The language data obtaining section is further configured: to search either the internet network or the LAN network for the language data storage server; if the language data obtaining section has found the language data storage server in the one network, to obtain the language data from the language data storage server having been found; to search the other network for the language data storage server if the language data obtaining section has not found the language data storage server in the one network; and when the language data obtaining section has found the language data storage server in the other network, to obtain the language data from the language data storage server having been found.
In a further aspect, the language setting device comprises a language data transmitting section for transmitting language data to another language setting device on the or the LAN.
In a further aspect, the language setting device comprises a Web server communication function using the World-Wide Web, and the language code obtaining section is further configured to obtain, from an online device accessing the Web server via a Web browser, a language code indicating in what language environment the Web browser operates.
Further, a second aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for setting the language of an language setting device connected to a network, with the method comprising: obtaining from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses; obtaining, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; and setting the language environment of the language setting device to have the language environment the online device uses, based on the obtained language data.
Further, a third aspect of the present invention is directed to non-transitory storage medium having stored therein a language setting program for setting language of a language setting device connected to a network, and the program causes a computer provided in the language setting device to execute the steps of: obtaining from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses; obtaining, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; and setting the language environment of the language setting device to have the language environment the online device uses, based on the obtained language data.
The language setting device according to the present invention obtains a language code from a language data storage server connected to a network. Thus, a language setting device that can support a large number of languages with a smaller amount of storage capacity can be realized.
To the intranet 40, a computer 20, and an intranet server 30 (a language data storage server) are connected. To the computer 20, a display 21 is connected. The intranet server 30 is, for example, installed by a manufacturer of the router 10, or installed by an intranet administrator who is provided with a language data storage server program (to be described below with reference to
The language code obtaining section 11 obtains, from an online device such as the computer 20 which has accessed the router 10, a language code indicating the language environment used in the online device. The language code can be obtained from an operating system or a Web browser of the online device.
The language data obtaining section 12 obtains language data stored in the language data storage server that either the intranet server 30 or internet server 50 is configured as. Here, the language data includes font data of the language. The language data may include hypertext data for generating character strings to be displayed on a screen for setting or operating the router 10. The language data obtaining section 12 preferentially accesses either the intranet server 30 or internet server 50.
The storage section 13 stores therein language data obtained by the language data obtaining section 12.
The language environment setting section 14 sets the language environment of the router 10 so as to operate the router 10 under a language environment according to the language data stored by the storage section 13.
Next, operation of the router 10 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In step S100, the language code obtaining section 11 obtains a language code indicating the language environment used in the online device (see
In step S200, the language data obtaining section 12 searches for the language data storage server (see (3) in
In step S300, the language environment setting section 14 updates the language environment of the router 10 to the language environment according to the language data stored in the storage section 13.
Then, the router 10 performs the following processes as necessary. To begin with, the router 10 generates setting window image data which corresponds to a current language environment of the router 10 and which is displayable by the Web browser 222 of the computer 20 or the like (to be described below with reference to
As described above, according to this embodiment, to change an initially set language environment to a different language environment, the router 10 obtains language data from the language data storage server (internet server 50 or intranet server 30) which is connected to the network (internet 60 or intranet 40). Therefore, the manufacturer of the router 10 only needs to store any one item of language data into the storage section 13 during manufacturing irrespective of the language environment by the user of the router will use. Therefore, the manufacturer need not necessarily manufacture two or more types of routers depending on the languages used in the exporting countries. In addition, the storage capacity of the storage section 13 can be reduced. Namely, a router 10 that can support a large number of languages with a smaller storage capacity can be realized.
(Modification)
Next, a modification of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The language code obtaining section 11a has, in addition to the function held by the language code obtaining section 11, a function of determining whether a language code obtained from an online device coincides with the language code the router 10a currently uses. If these language codes coincide with each other, the language code obtaining section 11a controls the language data obtaining section 12 not to obtain language data from the language data storage server.
Next, operation of the router 10a of this modification will be described in detail with reference to
In step S110, the language code obtaining section 11a obtains the language code indicating the initial language environment of the router 10a. Here, the language code indicates the language that the router 10a is initially set to. The manufacturer of the router 10a can set any language as the initially set language. The language may be, for example, the official language used in the country where the manufacturer of the router 10a is located.
In step S120, the language code obtaining section 11a determines whether the language code indicating the language environment initially set to the router 10a coincides with the language code obtained from an online device such as the computer 20 or the like. If they coincide with each other, the router 10a ends the process, whereas if they do not coincide with each other, the router 10a advances the processing to step S200.
Next, another modification of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The language data obtaining section 12b searches for a language data storage server (internet server 50) on the internet 60, and a language data storage server (intranet server 30) on the intranet 40, in this order. The language data obtaining section 12b then obtains language data from the language data storage server that is determined to be able to supply language data readily.
Next, operation of the router 10b of this modification will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In step S130, the language data obtaining section 12b searches for an internet server 50 (language data storage server) on the internet 60 (see (3) in
In step S150, the language data obtaining section 12b searches for the intranet server 30 (language data storage server) on the intranet 40 (see (5) in
In step S170, the language data obtaining section 12b requests installation of language data from a CD-ROM, and obtains the language data from the CD-ROM inserted into a CD-ROM drive of the computer 20. The language data obtaining section 12b stores the obtained language data into the storage section 13. Thereafter, the language environment setting section 14 performs the process in step S300.
In this modification, the language data obtaining section 12b firstly searches for the language data storage server 50 on the internet 60, and then searches for the language data storage server 30 on the intranet 40. However, either of the language data storage servers may be searched for first. The manufacturer of the router 10b usually furnishes a language data storage server 50 on the internet 60. Thus, initially searching for the language data storage server 50 on the internet 60 makes it possible to obtain the latest language data. On the other hand, initially searching for the language data storage server 30 on the intranet 40 makes it possible to reduce load on the network, particularly on the internet.
It should be noted that, in this modification, when the language data is to be installed from a CD-ROM, a direction for requesting CD-ROM insertion is displayed by means of the default language of the router 10b. However, the router 10b may request CD-ROM insertion by displaying on the display 21 window image data in place of alphabetic data, without depending on the language environment. Further, for language selection, a map may be displayed on the display 21. In this case, a country on the map is selected for language selection.
Further, in this modification, the language data obtaining section 12b need not necessarily perform the process in step S170. Alternatively, the language data obtaining section 12b may perform merely an error display in step S170.
Further, the above-described two modifications may be utilized in a combined manner. Namely, the router may include the language code obtaining section 11a, the language data obtaining section 12b, the storage section 13, and the language environment setting section 14. Such a router is hereinafter referred to as a router 10c.
Next, a system configuration of the present embodiment will be described.
The language code obtaining program 121 executes the function of the language code obtaining section 11. The language data obtaining program 122 executes the function of the language data obtaining section 12. The language data storage area 123 has the same function as the storage section 13. The language environment setting program 124 executes the function of the language environment setting section 14.
The Web server program 125 adds to the router 10 a Web server function. Accordingly, the administrator of the intranet can access the router 10 from the computer 20 by means of the Web browser thereby to change settings of the router 10 or execute various operations on the router 10 by means of the computer 20. Further, the Web server program 125 transmits a display image, which is generated by the display image generating program 126 to be described below, to an online device such as the computer 20. The Web server program 125 may obtain, in association with the language code obtaining program 121, the language code used by the Web browser of the computer 20. Upon being accessed by means of the Web browser of the computer 20, the display image generating program 126 generates a display image in accordance with a new language environment set by the language environment setting program 124, thereby to be displayed on the screen of the Web browser.
The router program 127 causes the router 10 to function as a router. That is, the router program 127 realizes, for example, a packet-filtering function or an address conversion function between a global address for the internet 60 and a private address for the intranet 40. The router program 127 may be configured to have, in addition to the router function, various router-related functions such as a firewall function. The router setting data storage area 128 stores therein various setting parameters of the router 10 such as an address conversion table, and a packet filtering table. These functions are generally included in routers, and not related to technical features specific to the present invention. Thus, no detailed description will be given of these functions.
The system configurations of the routers 10a, 10b, and 10c are the same as that of the router 10 except for the language code obtaining program 121 and the language data obtaining program 122. The language code obtaining program 121 and the language data obtaining program 122 included in each of the routers 10a, 10b, and 10c may be realized by any programs as long as the programs execute the operations of the corresponding language code obtaining section and the language data obtaining section.
In this embodiment and its modifications, the router has been described as an example of the language setting device. However, the technique of this embodiment is applicable to, other than the router, such devices as are connectable to a network, that is, it is applicable to a network attached storage (NAS), a media server, a device server, a print server, a digital photo frame, a network camera, a network recorder, and the like.
Second EmbodimentThe NAS 70 has a configuration of any of the routers 10, 10a, 10b, and 10c of the first embodiment. Thus, the NAS 70 corresponds to the language setting device of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, NAS's having the configurations of the routers 10, 10a, 10b, and 10c, respectively, of the first embodiment are referred to as NAS 70, 70a, 70b, and 70c. However, the operations of the language data obtaining sections included in NAS 70b and NAS 70c are partially different from that of the language data obtaining section 12b in the first embodiment. In the description hereinbelow, the language data obtaining section included in both the NAS 70b and NAS 70c is referred to as a language data obtaining section 12d, and description thereof will be given in detail. Since the remaining components are the same as those in the first embodiment, no description thereof will be given.
The language data obtaining section 12d searches for the router 10d, and determines whether the router 10d and the NAS were manufactured by the same manufacturer, and whether it is possible to obtain language data from the router 10d. If the router 10d and the NAS were manufactured by the same manufacturer and it is possible to obtain the language data from the router 10d, then the language data obtaining section 12d obtains the language data from the router 10d. Otherwise, the language data obtaining section 12d attempts to obtain language data from the internet server 50 or the like. The remaining functions of the language data obtaining section 12d are the same as those of the language data obtaining section 12b.
Next, the operations of the NAS and the router 10d according to the second embodiment will be described. In the case of the NAS 70 or NAS 70a, the NAS obtains, in step S200 in
In the first embodiment, the language data obtaining section initially accesses the internet server 50 on the internet 60. However, in the second embodiment, the language data obtaining section 12d accesses the router 10d in step S121. The language data obtaining section 12d then obtains from the router 10d a media access control (MAC) address, for example (see
In step S122, the language data obtaining section 12d determines whether the NAS and the router 10d were manufactured by the same manufacturer. The MAC address is constituted by 48 bits, and the upper 24 bits indicate the manufacturer. Therefore, the language data obtaining section 12d compares the upper 24 bits of the MAC address of the NAS and the upper 24 bits of the MAC address of the router, thereby to determine whether the NAS and the router 10d were manufactured by the same manufacturer. If they are manufactured by different manufacturers, the language data obtaining section 12d performs the process in step S130. The processes performed by the NAS thereafter are the same as those in the first embodiment.
If they are manufactured by the same manufacturer, the language data obtaining section 12d advances the processing to step S123, and determines whether the router 10d can function as the language data storage server. For example, the language data obtaining section 12d sends a command for requesting language data to the router 10d. If language data is transmitted in response to the command, the language data obtaining section 12d obtains the language data in step S200 (see
On the other hand, if language data is not transmitted within a predetermined period of time, the language data obtaining section 12d determines that the router 10d cannot function as the language data storage server. In this case, the language data obtaining section 12d performs the process in step S130. Operation of the NAS thereafter is the same as that in the first embodiment.
Next, a system configuration of this embodiment will be described.
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the manufacturer of the NAS need not manufacture two or more types of NAS depending on the languages used in the exporting countries, as in the first embodiment. In addition, the storage capacity of the storage section 13 can be saved.
In the second embodiment, since the router 10d functions as the language data storage server, no provision of an intranet server 30 is required. In this case, steps S150 to S160 in
(Modification)
Next, a modification of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, the NAS 70 may have the configuration of any of the NAS's 70a to 70c. Also, the NAS 70 may further include, in addition to the configuration of any of the NAS's 70a to 70c, the language data transmitting section 15 included in the router 10d (for convenience of explanation, a NAS having such a configuration is hereinafter referred to as a NAS 70d). The media server 90 has the configuration of whichever of the NAS 70 or NAS's 70a to 70d.
When the media server 90 becomes connected to the home network 41, the media server 90 accesses other online devices connected to the home network 41 such as the computer 20, the router 10d, or the like thereby to obtain a language code. At this time, the user of the media server 90 can set or operate the media server 90 using a remote controller (not shown), for example. Operations thereafter are the same as those in step S100 and thereafter in
In the first and second embodiments, when the router 10 or the NAS 70 is accessed by the computer 20, it obtains a language code from the computer 20, and sets the language environment. However, when the router 10 becomes connected to the intranet 40, for example, the language data obtaining section may access other online devices connected to the intranet 40 thereby to obtain a language code from the other online devices. For example, in the second embodiment, when the NAS 70 becomes connected to the intranet 40, the language data obtaining section may access the router 10d, obtain the language code used in the router 10d, and then obtain the language data.
Further, in the above embodiments, the router, NAS, and media server have been described as examples of the language setting devices. However, language setting devices suitable for the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments. In addition to routers, NAS's, and media servers, suitable apparatuses include wireless HUBs, device servers, print servers, digital photo frames, network cameras, and network recorders.
The programs described in the above-described embodiments may be distributed stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Alternatively, the programs may be stored in a server connected to a network thereby to be downloaded by the language setting devices.
The above embodiments are described for easy understanding of the present invention, and should not be deemed to limit the present invention. It will be understood that the present invention may be changed and modified within the scope of the present description and the appended claims, and that the present invention includes equivalents thereto.
Claims
1. A language setting device connectable to a network for enabling its language environment to be set, the device comprising:
- a language code obtaining section configured to obtain from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses;
- a language data obtaining section configured to obtain, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section;
- a storage section configured to store the language data obtained by the language data obtaining section; and
- a language environment setting section configured to use the language data stored in the storage section to set the language environment of the language setting device.
2. The language setting device according to claim 1, wherein the network includes an LAN and an internet, the language setting device is connected to both the LAN and the internet, and the language data storage server is connected to at least one of either the internet or the LAN, the language data obtaining section therein being further configured:
- to search either the network of the internet or the network of the LAN for the language data storage server;
- to obtain, if the language data storage server has been found in one of either of the networks, the language data from the language data storage server that the language data obtaining section has found;
- to search, if the language data storage server has not been found in one of either of the networks, the other of the networks for the language data storage server; and
- to obtain, if the language data storage server has been found in the other of the networks, the language data from the language data storage server that the language data obtaining section has found.
3. The language setting device according to claim 1, further comprising a language data transmitting section for transmitting the language data to another language setting device on the network.
4. The language setting device according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a Web server communication function using the World-Wide Web, wherein
- the language code obtaining section is further configured to obtain, from an online device accessing the Web server via a Web browser, a language code indicating in what language environment the Web browser operates.
5. A language data storage server for storing language data used for setting a specific language environment of a language setting device connected to a network for enabling its language environment to be set, and for transmitting the language data to the language setting device in response to a request from the language setting device.
6. A language environment configuration system for configuring network device language environments, the system comprising:
- a language setting device whose language environment is to be configured; and
- a language data storage server for transmitting language data to the language setting device to set the language environment of the language setting device to a specific language environment; wherein the language setting device includes: a language code obtaining section configured to obtain from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses; a language data obtaining section configured to obtain, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; a storage section configured to store the language data obtained by the language data obtaining section; and a language environment setting section configured to use the language data stored in the storage section to set the language environment of the language setting device.
7. A method for setting language of a language setting device connected to a network, the method comprising:
- obtaining from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses;
- obtaining, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; and
- setting the language environment of the language setting device to have the language environment the online device uses, based on the obtained language data.
8. A non-transitory storage medium having stored therein a language setting program for setting language of a language setting device connected to a network, the program causing a computer provided in the language setting device to execute the steps of:
- obtaining from an online device connected to the network a language code indicating what language environment the online device uses;
- obtaining, from a language data storage server in the network, language data for configuring the language setting device to have a language environment corresponding to the language code obtained by the language code obtaining section; and
- setting the language environment of the language setting device to have the language environment the online device uses, based on the obtained language data.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 14, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 22, 2011
Applicant: BUFFALO INC. (Nagoya-shi)
Inventor: Hideki Ishii (Nagoya-shi)
Application Number: 13/046,779
International Classification: G06F 15/177 (20060101);